1899.] D. Hooper — Akakia : an Ancient Eastern Medicine. 249 



With a knowledge of what an extract of habul pods should be, tlie 

 light of chemical inquiry was next directed towards the composition 

 of trade samples of Akakia. Three specimens are exhibited in the 

 Indian Museum, two of which are in the form of round black cakes, and 

 one in a hard yellowish, resin-like mass. 



One of the black cakes, obtained from the Panjab, merely softened 

 in hot water, without dissolving. On igniting a small quantity on 

 platinum foil, it buint with a dense smoky flame, and left a residue of 

 68 per cent, of mineral matter. It had all tiie characters of pitch or 

 asphalt. Another sample of the same shape and colour, but obtained 

 from Bengal, was similar in appearance to that from the Panjab. It 

 consisted of a pitch-like, resinous material, and yielded when ignited 

 about 45 per cent, of siliceous ash. The third specimen labelled "from 

 Hyderabad," was a vitreous substance of a yellowish-brown colour. It 

 was composed of gum, resin, vegetable debris and sand. It afforded 

 no reactions for tannin, and, like the previous samples, was altogether 

 foreign to the products of species of Acacia. 



Since these samples were examined a further attempt has been made 

 to procure in Calcutta a genuine specimen of this extract, but from the 

 diversely coloured and resinous articles supplied under this name it is 

 evident that entirely different substance are regularly being sold by the 

 bazar druggists in place of the once renowned Akakia. 



The local specimens, of which there are three in number, are coloured 

 respectively black, green and light brown. The black cake bears a 

 resemblance to those previously described, but closer examination showed 

 that the resinous principle consisted of shellac, while the other consti- 

 tuents were charcoal, and a liberal allowance of sandy mineral matter 

 amounting to two-thirds of the weight of the whole. 



The light brown specimen is a pure resin, and is no doubt allied 

 to Olibanum, many varieties of which are obtained from species of 

 BoswelUa. The green lump is probably the same compound mixed with 

 colouring matter. Olibanum seems also to be the basis of the resinous- 

 ingredient present in the Bengal variety. 



The result of this inquiry shows a state of affairs which deserves 

 explanation. Either the native apothecary is entirely ignorant of the 

 nature of some of the drugs he dispenses, or he is recklessly or fraudu- 

 lently practicing a system of substitution. The condition of the trade in 

 the time-honoured drug Akakia is far from satisfactory, and it is only by 

 practical investigations in this direction that we can hope to remedy it. 



